ObjectiveTo investigate the expression and clinical significance of HOXB7 mRNA and protein in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues.MethodsThe expressions of HOXB7 mRNA were evaluated in 6 cases of adjacent colorectal mucosal (ACRM) tissues and 6 cases of CRC tissues by using RT-PCR. The HOXB7 protein expressions were evaluated in 30 cases of ACRM tissues and 98 cases of CRC tissues by using immunohistochemistry. The correlations between the expression of HOXB7 protein, and the clinicopathologic factors or the patient’ survival were analyzed.ResultsRT-PCR results showed that expression level of HOXB7 mRNA in CRC tissues was significantly higher than that of ACRM tissues (P=0.003). Immunohistochemistry results showed that significantly higher positive-expression rate of HOXB7 protein in CRC tissues compared with ACRM tissues (P<0.05). Positive expression of HOXB7 protein was associated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and the TNM stage (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that positive expression of HOXB7 protein was not inversely correlated with survival of CRC patients (P=0.865).ConclusionPositive expression of HOXB7 protein is a novel biomarker for estimating the progression of CRC, but remains of textual research may be to confirm the significance of HOXB7 protein for prognosis evaluation.
